In a surgical environment, it is well known that surgical equipment could be the source of life threatening infections unless thoroughly sanitised. In the case of minimally invasive (key-hole) surgical procedures, the need for sterile conditions is still paramount in spite of the fact that the size of incisions and internal exposure of the patient to equipment are significantly reduced. Thus, a reusable probe introduced into a patient during key-hole surgery must be sterilised before re-use on another patient. However, the sterilisation of certain ancillary equipment, such as cabling which is merely used in conjunction with the probe and not introduced into the patient, would be expensive and time consuming if performed after each operation. Instead, a practice has developed of covering the ancillary equipment with a sterile drape which may be disposed of and replaced after each operation.
Surgical drapes are mass produced to suit a range of different applications. For example, the drapes may be employed to cover varying lengths of cable depending on individual circumstance, and thus a potential problem arises during use concerning temporary storage of drape material which is surplus to requirements in each given situation. To this end, telescopic and concertina style drapes have been proposed in attempts to confine excess drape material in an orderly manner, thereby reducing risk of interference with the surgical procedure being undertaken. However, such drapes require materials capable of retaining intricate shapes, not to mention experienced application, without which the integrity of the sterile covering may be impaired.
An object of the present invention is to provide a drape for covering surgical equipment, with the length of the drape available for covering the surgical equipment being readily variable to suit individual circumstances.